Design Overview in Automotive Industry: PART 1

REPROT 1

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this report is to provide an overview of the things a 'Product Design-Engineer' should know about the Automotive Industry and also study of the entire set of steps in the lifecycle of an Automotive Product from the 'Concept Sketching' phase to 'Mass Production' phase. 

MAIN REPORT:

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE(PLC): PLC of a product describes the classic life-cycle of any automotive product from the time it is 'Designed & Developed' to be launched in the market after testing multiple prototypes, testing its effectiveness, and strategizing its launch as it enters into its initial subsequent 'Growth Phase' where it the marketed as best that the respective company can provide at that time & stage. Thereafter target-audience customers truly start to buy the product which leads to growth in demand and profits at hopefully a steadily rapid pace, and eventually, the sales level off from the rapid growth phase and the product enters what is known as the Maturity Phase where the company reduces the product’s price to maintain their position ahead of their competitors. In time, the product enters the Saturation Phase which is when the competitors have started to take a portion of the market and the respective product will not experience either growth or decline in sales. Sooner or later, the product enters into the Decline Phase where it becomes evident to the manufacturer as its sales decline and at this phase companies usually slash the prices to clear off their stock and make way for the new vehicle.

1. 10 STAGES OF THE PRODUCT LIFE-CYCLE IN AN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY:

A) Concept Sketching: Designers have always preferred doing freehand ‘Concept-Sketching’ for the earliest phases of conceptual design because of their ability to fulfill their natural and intuitive needs to explore ideas initially as this effort-saving character of sketches allows them to concentrate more on the creative side of the conceptual design. These sketches are not intended to be accurate as this is merely a way of exploring and conveying important principles of product design. Technical and Aesthetic aspects are also meant to be kept in consideration during this phase. 

Here is an example of Concept Sketching: 

B) Styling Class A Surface: Nowadays, The Aesthetics & Form of an Automotive Product is just as crucial as its functionality which determines the overall perception of a quality product at the consumer end. There are internal or external and visible or hidden surfaces. Class-A Surfaces are referred to as those surfaces which are visible for viewing. These are free-form surfaces present in both interior and exterior of the product with the surface finish of the highest possible quality to make it look more appealing to the customers.

While developing Class-A Surfaces, one has to ensure that these are built with tight tolerances for G0, G1, and G2 continuities where ‘G0’ refers to the position of the surface,’ G1’ refers to various tangents in between various surfaces and ‘G2’ refers to the curvature of the respective surfaces. Here surface edits like checking the whole model for gaps in surfaces are done and are stitched wherever required, Surface Continuity is ensured by checking all the individual boundaries, and finally, the whole model is inspected for any duplicates or extra small edges protruding outside. There’s no absolute rule for tolerances or continuity levels as it depends entirely on the skill and knowledge of the Class-A Modeler to be able to judge which settings work best for the respective surface.

Various CAD platforms where one can create Class-A Surfaces are as follows:

1. Autodesk Alias
2. ICEM Surf
3. Freestyle Module in CATIA by Dassault Systemes
4. Imageware and Unigraphics Class A module 

Example of a Class-A Surface Model:

Mercedes-AMG C01 Vision's Class-A Surface

C) Feasibility Test: It is an analysis that is conducted to review and determine the plausibility of a given project’s success, as well as its profitability. The degree of the feasibility of the project is determined by conducting a cost-benefit analysis by the company which covers both technical and economic aspects of the project. Usually, it is managed by the development team and production partners as it is the centerpiece of all previous preparatory work. It provides a decisive response to whether the project’s vision in question is, from a technical as well as commercial perspective, a realistic endeavor. It is an important step to ensure the manufacturability of the components while minimizing the overall risk, selecting the right tooling for the production, conducting market surveys, collecting and interpreting the feedback gathered from the consumers & stakeholders to keep their needs in check while developing the new product,  and hence it is vital to carry out this assessment efficiently. 

D) Concept Validation: To ensure that the design of the product meets the required fit, form, and functional requirements as specified by the respective board, the product is analyzed utilizing analytical methods such as FEA or CFD, Kinematic Analysis of Mechanisms, and Tolerance Stack Up Analysis, etc, and the data is evaluated to consider alternatives if required that are cost-effective. Predict the Failure-Modes, ensure Fatigue-Analysis yielded higher cycle than test requirements, etc. At this phase, all the design rules are validated, and Various types of studies are done which puts various components and systems through a series of ‘Virtual’ and sometimes even ’Real-World’ tests to ensure it is safe, reliable, and compliant with the current regulations. For example, the Visibility check for the driver checks the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle visibility is primarily determined by weather conditions and by Vehicle’s Design, and hence it is important to ensure the design is constructed in such a way so that the effects of the weather can be mitigated to improve the driver’s vision. 

E) New Product Development: The process by which a new product is conceived, investigated, taken through the design process, manufactured, marketed, and serviced is known as New Product Development. The vital work of a Product Design Engineer starts from this phase. After the concept is validated, the designer starts developing CAD sketches for each of the components of the vehicle. The prime objective of the Product Designed is to incorporate all the necessary inputs from the previous stages and ensure that the product is fully ready to be manufactured in the upcoming phases. Here all the crucial design rules are applied and meet the design standard of the organization it belongs to.

F) Development: After all the concepts are validated and the required CAD models are rendered, it’s time to formulate ways to manufacture the product into existence. At this phase, both Design Team and Manufacturing Team work symbiotically with each other. Then, this integrated development team sets out to find and collaborate with the best possible manufacturers to ensure that the design is feasible to manufacture for them on a large scale without compromising the quality of the product. The development team works with the tool makers, mold design constructors, fixtures providers, and various other outsourced vendors and stakeholders to kick start the manufacturing phase of the desired part. Surveys are done to check if the manufacturers can meet the required delivery schedules and manufacturing cost targets, The focus should always be on the most critical user inputs for the manufacturers.

G) Proto-Build: Automotive Prototyping plays numerous vital roles throughout the design validation process that eventually culminates in manufacturing. A prototype can be used to ensure that a product can be made, to decide on the types of materials that are best for a product, and also to evaluate what types of equipment should be used to manufacture the parts. Rough prototypes are made sometimes using cost-effective prototyping techniques such as plastic injection molding. This basic prototype can be used to visualize the concept and share information with the entire project team. The earlier pre-development stage requires a more refined prototype to determine the useability of the product and smooth over any design challenges. Also, automotive engineers sometimes refer to this stage as the ‘Mule Stage’ during which engineers take the donor cars, strip the vehicle down and place the prototype product in the existing automobiles allowing them to see how the automotive prototype will fit in the vehicle and interact with the other parts. Design alternatives can still be carried out at this stage if necessary which may work better. After the ‘Mule Stage’, Automotive prototypes are brought to the assembly plant for production process validation. CNC Machining, Metal Stamping, and other metal forming and fabricating techniques are used during this phase to figure out the ideal methods for creating the final automotive product. These types of automotive prototypes allow engineers to figure out possible problems as well as determine the most cost-effective manufacturing processes. There is never just one prototype made when developing a new automotive product. Prototypes play vital roles throughout the ongoing process of developing automotive parts and assemblies. They are constantly refined until a consensus is reached regarding both the product design and the manufacturing methods that will be used to create it.

H) Design Validation: During the Design-Validation phase, usually Product engineers use an automotive prototype to gain clarity regarding their design and validate that they can be made, and also to ‘sell’ their concepts to stakeholders. At this phase, the product is inspected thoroughly for any failures in the prototype such as plastic deformation, dimensional instability, etc, and then find out ways to rectify those areas of failure. At this phase usually, all major design modifications are already done and now there’s only room for minor corrections in the design if necessary. Design Validation is concerned primarily with demonstrating the consistency and completeness of design concerning the consumer’s and stakeholder’s needs. FMEA(Failure Mode Effect Analysis) technique is also used here to figure out what possible failures can occur during validating the final design and also what defects can occur during the manufacturing phase. 

I) Pilot Production: There are always many risks associated with the launch of a new product. A short and limited production run is conducted to test the manufacturing line and ensure that no major kinks are remaining in the process to be rectified. The most important role of the Pilot-Production phase is to devise the lead-time and manufacturing processes of various components and identification of any defects in the manufactured products. Also, the assembly line is inspected thoroughly to evaluate the assembly conditions. When all of these processes are confirmed to be delivering the right quality of products, especially for relatively new and complex products, then the process is said to be validated. Pilot runs can never be skipped as they help to assure that the production line is functioning just as required and all the processes are working in harmony before the actual mass-production phase kicks in.  

J) Mass Production: After ensuring that all the above phases of the manufacturing are producing products at the desired rate while meeting all the quality standards then permission for mass production is given. This process involves bulk production of products with the help of an assembly line to bring down the cost per unit and achieve standardization. Mass production relies on the careful division of labor as the whole process is divided into specialized tasks involving highly repetitive motions patterns. The assembly line sped up the manufacturing process dramatically. It allowed factories to churn out products at a remarkable rate, and also managed to reduce labor hours necessary to complete product-benefitting many workers who used to spend 10-12 hours a day in the factory trying to meet quotas. 

2. STAGES OF THE CYCLE AT WHICH AN AUTOMOTIVE DESIGNER'S INVOLVEMENT IS NEEDED:

A) Feasibility Check

B) Concept Validation

C) New Product Design/Development 

D) Design Validation 

3. SOFTWARE MAJORLY USED FOR CLASS-A SURFACE DESIGN:

Autodesk Alias, formerly known as Autodesk StudioTools is a family of Computer Aided Industrial Design(CAID) software that is predominantly used in automotive design for generating class A surfaces using the Bézier surface and non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) modeling method. It is such a design software that lets anyone create products and improve processes with a single design pipeline. It allows a great deal of freedom with surface development and grants the ability to create Class-A surfaces where one can find multiple ways of creating any surface. As one begins to understand the tools involved in it, they're able to create any surface that will work best for them in their respective application. A great deal of freedom involved in this software acts as a bridge between actual clay modeling and other complex modeling tools such as CATIA or SolidWorks.

4. FEASIBILITY CHECK: 

1. It is done to validate all the concept sketches that are being developed while taking the Validated concept and NPD into consideration to make the product more feasible to manufacture.
2. At this stage, Earlier design ‘Carry-Over’ activities are done which are obtained from the previous variants of that car so that the lead time can be greatly reduced. Numerous surveys are conducted and a market study is done involving previous customers and stakeholders. Thereafter, all the data and feedback that is collected is then incorporated into the automotive life cycle.
3. For an instance, If numerous customers have mentioned the need for a ‘Shade Holder’ for their Specs as their feedback then this will be taken into consideration to be incorporated while designing the new product at the NPD phase. The product design engineer will then look for ways to introduce a section for ‘Shade-Holder’ somewhere convenient for the customers.
4. Hence, Feasibility Check ensures that the aesthetics and functional traits are validated along with the manufacturability of the interior and exterior surfaces is feasible in the early stage of the lifecycle all of which should be achievable at the least possible cost while ensuring to meet all the quality needs for the respective product.

5. STAGES OF THE DESIGN LIFE CYCLE: 

A) Concept Sketching: At the concept stage, automotive designers use quick informal freehand sketching methods to provide an initial representation of the design. This representation of the depends upon rapid direct techniques grounded in conventional methods based upon pen and paper. The sketches are produced through the initial representation of form lines and followed by shading to modify the shape. The design is involved in a process of attempting to give external definition to an imagined, or half imagined, suggestion for a design form. Different types of drawings are associated with different stages of the design process as the relatively unstructured and ambiguous sketch occurs early in the process. The process of moving from an initially vague concept to a detailed design proposal can be linked to moving from an out-of-focus image to one that is fully detailed. The concept sketch as an initial representation of the out-of-focus design idea is essential. These sketches are then used to prepare the Class-A surfaces for the model. 

The image below shows an example of a concept sketch: 

B) Styling Class-A Surfaces: The next phase after concept sketching in the design life-cycle is the creation of Class-A Surfaces from the previously sketched concept which is majorly done with the help of a software named Autodesk Alias. Class A surfacing is made to compliment the prototype modeling stage by reducing the required time and increasing control over the respective design iterations. It can be defined as any surface that has a styling intent that can be either seen, touched or both and it should also mathematically meet the definition for Bezier. The Class-A finish is the highest quality finish that can be provided. It is often specified for high visibility such as control panels, front covers, dashboards, seats, door pads, etc in which the customers demand the highest quality appearance. From the exterior point of view, it includes all the things which are visible to the customers such as body panels, bumper, grill, lights, etc. These all are parts that can be seen or touched. Class A surfaces represent the absolute peak of styling for freeform surfaces.

The image below shows an example of a Class-A Surface: 

C) Clay Modelling: Class-A surfaces are validated through clay modelling that is often to scale and provides the real visual representation of all the components that are going to be used to create the input for the CAD engineers to develop three-dimensional sketches, It’s the next best thing to seeing a prototype and also it costs less compared to other methods such as making an actual prototype by manufacturing the components using expensive metals and plastics while using various machining and fabrication processes. Designers can add to and take away material from any area of the car’s exterior with little trouble, making it highly fluid media. Many auto designers say that clay allows them to spot flaws in digital rendering as well. Sometimes the detail on a car’s body may need to be changed by as little as a millimeter. An edit like this can be tedious, but using the malleable clay allows designers to visualize and make multiple changes with real-world proportions, something that a computer rendering cannot compete with.

The image below shows an example of Clay-Modelling:

D) New Product Design/Development: For the final stage of the design cycle, every design of the components is converted into three-dimensional CAD models by design engineers while keeping into consideration all the specified design guidelines also they always have to ensure that the functional traits of every component maintain their status. All the products should be feasible to manufacture and get ready to be assembled eventually. If any part doesn’t meet the predefined guidelines or design rules then it’ll not be validated to be manufactured until and unless the issue is resolved. Here, the collaboration of both upstream and downstream processing teams is required to ensure the best possible outcome.

The image below shows an example of New Product Development: 

6. CONCURRENT ENGINEERING: It is known as a simultaneous engineering method for designing and developing products in which different stages run simultaneously, rather than consecutively. Various teams work together simultaneously on the same project rather than working individually which makes the process more effective and reduces the product development time significantly. This is an integrated development approach that reduces the need for multiple designs reworks by creating an environment for designing a product right the first time round is a long-term business strategy that results in long-term benefits. to the business. Even though the initial implementation can be challenging it provides a competitive advantage. It is implemented to improve and streamline the product development process and reduce product defects by creating an organizational structure that promotes continuous and substantive interaction between those who design products and those who build them. The reduction in design cycle time that results from concurrent engineering invariably reduces the total product cost.

7. CLAY MODELLING & ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN: Three-Dimensional Clay Models allow the designer to search for the desired surfaces directly on the model. Using sketches, tapes, and CAD information, the modeler and the designer work together to create a new design. The experience and craftsmanship of the clay modelers allow them to use their skills and the precision of the engineers plays a vital role to achieve the best possible results. Before the product is finalized, months of preparation, sketches, planning, and decision-making are involved. It is a difficult task which is why talented individuals are needed to design those models. Clay modelling requires people to make deliberate decisions and employ artistry when building machines.  

8. FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS & FUNCTIONAL RELIABILITY WITH EXAMPLES: 

A) The main stages of Functional Requirements are as follows:

1. Design Intent
2. Environment Consideration
3. Material Thickness

For instance, let’s say that an OEM wants to build an additional cup holder and also a place to hold a wallet in the car’s interior. This then becomes the design intent and when working on the design section, this design idea is taken into consideration. The design should be developed in a way to fit the required purpose. The environmental consideration is those factors that are required to place that part in the interior of the car for example with respect to the Car-Inboard, Car-Forward, and Z-position of the part, where should the required part should be placed to fulfill the design requirement. Finally, the desired material thickness is calculated and the selection of material is done after which the required product is manufactured along with other additional functional features.

Whenever a purpose of design arises, an after-study is conducted and the concept is validated after which analysis of the parts is done to incorporate the necessary part into the existing master sections.

B) The main factors for Functional Reliability are as follows:

1. Purpose
2. Strength
3. Resistance

From the above example, the purpose of designing an additional cup holder and a wallet holder is needed to be fully functional. It should not interfere with the functionality of other components. The possible defects occurrence should be validated and incorporated into the design to reduce the reworks and improve the overall quality. The factor of strength determines how it’ll be fitted inside the car and whether we need to use ‘Clips’ or ‘Snaps’ so that it’ll maintain its structural integrity even if the part is used roughly by the customers.

The best approach used in these designs is to use the DFMEA method(Design for Failure Mode Effect Analysis) which identifies the effective failure modes of the component and tries to reduce them beforehand in the design stages itself.

9. DFM(Design for Manufacturability) and DFA(Design for Assembly)

A) DFM(Design for Manufacturability): DFM is the process of designing parts, components, or products for ease of manufacturing with the end goal of making a better product at a lower cost. This is done by simplifying, optimizing, and refining the product design. Ideally, DFM needs to occur early in the design process, well before tooling has begun. In addition, a properly-executed DFM needs to include all the stakeholders — engineers, designers, contract manufacturers, mold-builder, and material suppliers. This “cross-functional” DFM intends to challenge the design — to look at the design at all levels: component, sub-system, system, and holistic levels — to ensure the design is optimized and does not have unnecessary costs embedded in it.

Five principles that are examined during a DFM are as follows:

1. Process
2. Design
3. Material
4. Environment
5. Compliance/Testing

Two important factors that are considered for DFM are as follows:

A) MinimumWall Thickness: For a component made out of plastic, the desired thickness will be around 2.5mm. If it goes beyond this dimension it’ll contribute to wastage of resources while in mass production as it will increase the overall cost of the product or component.

B) Draft Angle: When there is a plastic component being manufactured using the Injection molding method, the designer should validate the draft analysis for the part concerning the tooling axis to introduce a certain draft angle for the component or else when each of the components will be ejected, it’ll experience wear and tear in its surface due to shear forces generating between the surface of the component and the surface of the mold cavity.

B) DFA(Design for Assembly): Design for Assembly (DFA), simplifies the product’s overall structure by reducing the of components and minimizing the no. of assembly operations required. The aim should be to make the manufacturing process easier, faster, and more consistent, therefore more productive. Most products are assembled manually and the original DFA methods for manual assembly had an enormous impact on productivity. It was quickly realized that the most important aspect in optimizing for Design for Assembly was keeping the number of components to a minimum and removing unnecessary features that do not add to the functionality of the product.

10. ECONOMIC FACTORS OF DESIGN:

1. Considering the Functional-Requirements & Functional-Reliability, together DFM and DFA will reduce the overall cost of the component while improving its effectiveness. These factors are hence carefully considered in the design stages to avoid leading to the quality issue and prevent the need for reworks.
2. Serviceability is another important factor to be considered. The design should be constructed in such a manner so that the required component should be easy to reach which will allow the servicemen to carry out the maintenance procedure or part replacement with ease.
3. The lifecycle of an automobile doesn't end with the production or after the product is sold to the customer. It runs till the automobile is functional on the road in possession of customers. After-sales team should place a higher degree of priority on providing the required serviceability to the respected customers of those automobiles.
4. Also, there should be a design blueprint with guidelines and procedures handed out to the service engineers which should consist of all the details to provide different ways using which components of that vehicle can be serviced or maintained. It should also contain details about the lifecycles of all the components.
5. The final economic consideration is recyclability. About 80% of a vehicle by weight is recycled and the remaining 20% that can’t be recycled is termed as ‘Auto Shredder Residue(ASR)’, which includes ferrous and nonferrous metal pieces, dirt, glass, fabric, paper, wood, rubber, and plastic. We recycle our used plastics, we help keep valuable materials out of landfills so they can live another life as car parts or other products.

11. AUTOMOTIVE FREEHAND SKETCHING:

Below is the Freehand Concept Sketch of Mercedes-Benz AMG Gran Turismo:-